It’s August and my backyard vegetable garden is looking ragged to say the least. Part of the problem is laziness on my part. Each spring I am so excited about getting the seeds and seedlings into the ground that I don’t take the extra weekend time to set up a watering system that would make my life so much easier all summer long.

Drip irrigation is truly the way to go for both the health of the plants and the health of the planet, as it uses so much less water than sprinklers or hand watering. It does take a bit of planning to set out the drip irrigation or soaker hose lines. But the ease with which you will be able to irrigate your garden for the rest of the season is definitely worth the time and effort.

So, I’m sketching a plan NOW where I will need to put the lines next spring. I’m hoping to discover a sale at a local garden store this fall and be able to save money on the irrigation supplies as well as saving water next summer.

I can’t image life without chickens. Which is an odd thing for me to say because chickens and I aren’t exactly old friends. These animals came into my life for the first time just a few years ago, but ever since the first flock scratched outside my kitchen window — it felt like they’ve always been here. Maybe in a way they have? Not physically of course, but in this odd form of our collective American nostalgia.

You know what I mean, we see chickens everywhere. On toasters and T-shirts. On oven mitts and television programs. These yardbirds have not shied away from modern culture. Which is exactly why it both disturbs and amazes me that you can show a fourth-grade classroom a picture of a hen and they’ll all know exactly what it is. But if you ask how many of them actually have held one, or have a coop at home, the hands drop.

Why? These aren’t jungle cats! You expect a group of kids to know what a tiger is and never had held one — but chickens are the great backyard bird of everyman. One of the few kinds of livestock nearly anyone can keep cheaply and easily. So why don’t more back yards have small coops behind them? A flock of layers isn’t exactly a herd of shorthorns. Those birds take up barely any space at all, and I bet if you checked your county’s zoning codes you’ll find even in your suburb or city limits small laying flocks are allowed (roosters, for good reason, aren’t.) Heck, I bet if you listened closely, you might hear some when you walk the dog this afternoon.

As for me, ever since I collected that first egg from my own coop I was hooked. I was hooked because chickens give us so much, yet require so little. If you have ever considered a small flock of your own, stop putting it off. Seriously, these animals are low maintenance, fun, and easy for neighbors to watch when you go on vacation. All they need from us is a few scoops of feed, a fresh source of water, and some dry hay to nest in and they’re golden. That’s honestly the whole drill. If you can commit to standing in line at the same coffee shop every morning before work, you can commit to chickens. And it’s well worth it, son. From our happy birds we get these amazing eggs. Eggs that enhance everything from garden veggie quiches to butter-battered French toast. Your kitchen will sing. So will a little bit of your rural heart. It’s beating deep in there even if you work in Brooklyn (by the way New Yorkers, hens are allowed in your city) So get some hens!

There was a weird hole in time that I didn’t have chickens. It was when I was moving to Vermont from Idaho. I had to move 3,000 miles away and couldn’t bring my chickens with me. My Rocky mountain flock went home to friends and local homesteaders, so they were fine. I wasn’t.

When I arrived at my new destination in Vermont the house seemed dead without a flock of birds. Well, not dead. Comatose. I had learned to accept a clucking hen, a rooster’s crow, or a young pullet running across the driveway as the arteries of my homestead. They’d pump around the yard giving life and character to the rented freehold. Without them the farm felt lifeless, unplugged, and in need of some serious resuscitation. It took a few months until the new chicks arrived (along with a duck, turkey and some geese) but just having their brooder box in the bathroom was like one of those respirators used to revive a heart attack victim. They were an emotional shock and relief at the same time. As they milled about under the heat lamp near the sink I could almost hear “CLEAR!” and then feel the farm house’s heart start up again.

Besides the egg or stew pot, there’s another simple gift those birds give us. The simple homeland security of knowing you have a constant source of protein in the back yard. Proof positive that you’re working hard to be independent from outside food sources. There’s also the endearing responsibility and the benevolent feelings of caring for simple beings that repay us everyday. To scatter seed, repair a fence, or reline a nest box and then collect a basket of fresh eggs shows us that our work is appreciated. When was the last time you felt like that at the office?

So that’s my homage to the good hen. Birds that cost so little, require minimal care, and yet still manage to give so much. They’re both avatars of rural living and a constant form of entertainment. I guess I could survive without chickens. But when something is so logical and fun, why would I? Why should you?

Jenna Woginrich is the author of the forthcoming book, Made from Scratch: Discovering the Pleasures of a Handmade Life, from Storey Publishing. Visit her Web site at coldantlerfarm.blogspot.com.

What a Waste! 

It’s hard to believe, but Treehugger reported this morning on a new study that states the world wastes nearly half the food it produces. That’s right. Half. And the news, while certainly shocking enough, gets gets hairier — because agriculture is responsible for 80 percent of our nation’s consumptive water usage, that amount of wasted food means even more wasted water. 

Optimists may be thinking that this news has a brilliant silver lining, and they'd be correct. We already produce more than enough food to feed the world. That’s a relief, and all the more reason to encourage the spread of small, local and organic farms. But now for the tough part: How do we get the world to make better use of its food resources? 

Anyone?

How many of us have dreamed of a cabin in the woods, nestled on the shore of a lake or river? For most of us, that dream is a high-ticket item. But what if you could have your cabin and not have to worry about buying the land or paying recreation-land taxes?

Enter the houseboat! A cabin on a barge-like vessel, capable of plying the waters or sitting stationary close to shore. Imagine yourself spending the weekend lazing across a lake, fishing pole in hand, rocked to sleep at night by the gentle movement of the water.

PBS will be hosting a documentary, Atchafalaya Houseboat, about Gwen Roland’s experiences on the houseboat she and her partner built on the Atchafalaya River in the 1970s. Her article, Barge on a Bayou was featured in Mother Earth News in 1982.

Gwen’s houseboat barge was 103 feet long. But if you are thinking of something a little smaller and easier to move around, check out this article and plan for how to build a houseboat. And read more on how to build a boat here.

Photo by Richard Trachi

Blog Action Day 2008 is upon us, a day in which bloggers across the world write about a single issue to raise awareness and prompt widespread discussion. The subject is poverty, and we're planning to contribute a list of tips on how to live a rich life on a low budget. As part of the Mother Earth News community, we thought you'd have a "wealth" of ideas to contribute. Please share your wisdom by posting a comment below.  

The battle has begun: On August 13 the organization known as Yes on Prop 2 — Californians for Humane Farms filed a suit in federal district court against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the American Egg Board (AEB) for what they call the “unlawful expenditure of $3 million in federal funds.” 

Proposition 2 is a ballot initiative in California to outlaw extreme confinement of livestock, such as gestation crates for swine or battery cages for poultry, to be voted on this November. The trouble began when the Humane Society of the United States found that the AEB approved the $3 million in checkoff funds to fight the initiative. Because it’s illegal to use checkoff funds for political purposes (they are essentially taxes collected from livestock producers to fund research, education and marketing of a particular commodity), the AEB and USDA claim that their use of the funds is to educate Californians about current farming practices. That’s not what internal documents obtained by the Humane Society indicated, however.

Read the press release from the Humane Society here, and details about the situation along with correspondence between the Humane Society and the USDA/AEB here.

I guess we’ll see what the judge has to say.

Moving towards a sustainable lifestyle is becoming more of the norm. Folks are using solar clothes dryers (clotheslines), growing vegetables in their backyard and landscaping with native plants. With the upswing in gas prices, we are seeing more bicycles and scooters on city streets and for sale signs in the windows of SUVs. This is a good thing.

But there are still places where clotheslines, tomato plants and native plantings (weeds?) are not OK. According to a recent article “Let’s Handcuff the Property Cops,” published by the Land Institute in Kansas, “Twenty percent of Americans now live in homes subject to rules set by homeowner associations, or HOAs. These private imitation governments have sweeping powers to dictate almost any aspect of a member's property, from the size of the residence down to changes in trim color and the placement of a basketball hoop.”

Many of the HOA rules extend to clotheslines, vegetable gardens and solar panels. So beware: If you are planning a move, check whether the community you’ve chosen has a homeowners association in place and what that might mean to your sustainable living practices.

I’m relatively new to homesteading. Brand new, actually. I’ve only been at it a few years. My gardens are humble, my livestock pint-sized, and the closest thing I have to a draft horse are my Siberian Huskies pulling a small sled — not exactly CSA startup material here. But hey, I’ll catch up.

While my current adventures in self-sufficiency are pretty light, they are slowly growing more complex and rewarding. Last year I was keeping rabbits — now I’m breeding them. I used to keep just a few hens for my own eggs — now I’m selling cartons at work from a larger flock. Every year I learn something new, make different mistakes, and get a little more comfortable in wellies and carhart. I’m getting it, but I wouldn’t be at it at all if I waited till the day I could buy a small farm to get started. You see folks, I farm and I rent.

Yes, I rent. I pay pet deposits, go to laundromats and the plumber does not bill me. It’s not the conventional way to go, but for me (and maybe you) it’s the only way to go right now. I am a firm believer that putting off what makes you content is happiness suicide. I don’t care what anyone else tells you, a homesteader doesn’t necessarily have to be a home owner. You don’t have to put off your fresh food dreams because you didn’t pick out the welcome mat.

Tenets like us don’t have to wait to start homesteading. There are things you can do right now that won’t break your lease or scare your neighbors. A henhouse with a few cooing Rhode Island Reds pecking around the yard makes less noise and causes less wear on a lawn then a Scottish Terrier. A small raised bed garden and some potted plants are even less obtrusive. I’m not saying to overhaul land that isn’t yours and pack it tight with 30 Nubian goats — but if your landlord can be sweet-talked into some small backyard projects, go for it with gusto (and if they balk, offer them a dozen organic free-range eggs every two weeks and some homemade tomato sauce. They’ll cave like spelunkers.)

Hey, even if animals aren’t a reality, and you can’t have a kitten (much less a Cochin) at your place there are no rules saying you have to pay a mortgage to bake your own bread or can green beans from the farmers market. Homesteading has so many intricate little parts that don’t require that romantic seven acres upstate — you shouldn’t wait. Start up that pressure canner and knit yourself a hat, son! Learn those skills you’ll use on the farm before you get there — you’ll be glad you did!

You shouldn’t have to spend a lot of money to get started either. A used sewing machine off Craigslist or a drop spindle and some roving might be all you need to start making your own clothes or spinning your own yarns. If money isn’t the issue, and space is, see if some of your friends want to get together and work on a community garden in one of their back yards or rooftops. You’d be amazed at what urbanites can do when they crave fresh vegetables. A lot of topsoil is being carried up elevators as we speak.

Point is, do not be discouraged if that dream farm isn’t here yet. It certainly isn’t for me and I have no idea when it will. However, until then there are a million recipes to test, country fairs to visit, local farms to tour and sheepdog trials to observe. So get off your desk chair and plant some peas in a pot. Yes, I know it’s not a rolling hillside, but hey, it’s something real we can put in our stomachs. And when all the tractor-and-Holstein wrapping paper is ripped off that’s what this is about in the first place, isn’t it? So let’s take what we can get tonight and be grateful for it.

Jenna Woginrich is the author of the forthcoming book, Made from Scratch: Discovering the Pleasures of a Handmade Life, from Storey Publishing. Visit her Web site at coldantlerfarm.blogspot.com.

Do you stand in the backyard or on the front porch and yell, "Heidi, time to come home!" when your kids are outside playing unsupervised in the neighbor's yard? No? Then perhaps you are among the generation of parents reported on in todays Tree Hugger e-newsletter, "New Study: Kids Need the Adventure of 'Risky' Play."

The group Play England, who conducted the study, suggested that risky play behavior, such as climbing trees, playing tag and splashing through creeks helps children learn to make judgements and know their own limits. They also suggested that today's parents are keeping their kids too safe.

The original article, posted in The Observer, notes that more children are admitted to the hospital with injuries from falling out of bed than out of trees.

They went on to say, "The tendency to wrap children in cotton wool has transformed how they experience childhood. According to the research, 70 per cent of adults had their biggest childhood adventures in outdoor spaces among trees, rivers and woods, compared with only 29 per cent of children today. The majority of young people questioned said that their biggest adventures took place in playgrounds."

Secretary Ed Schafer of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced that farmers will not be released from their Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contracts without penalty, due to favorable crop and weather forecasts, upward pricing trends in grain markets, and other factors. The USDA has been under pressure to allow farmers to opt-out of the CRP program without penalty in response to losses caused by recent flooding in the Midwest. 

According to Schafer, the amount of land enrolled in the program is already on its way to being reduced, thanks to a provision in the 2008 farm bill that lowers the cap on the total number of acres allowed in the program. More than 2 million acres must be removed, and over a million acres are protected in contracts set to expire on September 30. Another 3 million acres will be up for grabs in 2009, and over 4 million acres in 2010.  Re-enrollment is unlikely with the soaring demand for corn.

Read more about CRP here and here.